Frontier Inferno

By Kate Richards

For Heather, Castle, Alaska offers many surprises. A new job—as a nanny of all things—a handsome firefighter whose charisma proves a distraction from her plans, and the danger of discovery. Heather may have to hightail it out of Castle and into the wilderness, or risk being dragged back into the very situation she’d fled.

Romance takes a backseat for single dad Chris Elder, while he focuses on his young son and his job as a firefighter/smokejumper in the small community of Castle. But the arrival of the feisty woman from the lower forty-eight may prove more than his resolutions, or his libido, can handle.

Can the magic of Alaska save these two from a lonely future, or will circumstances force them to step back from their Frontier Inferno?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Decadent Publishing
• Release date: Mar 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781613336823

Kate Richards

Kate Richards is a SoCal dweller with a beach-loving family. She spends as much time as she can in the Pacific waves, but when surf’s not up she enjoys writing, reading, and growing vegetables in the only warehouse garden in Los Angeles – that she is aware of.

Book preview

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement (including infringement without monetary gain) is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Frontier Inferno

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 by Kate Richards

ISBN: 978-1-61333-682-3

Cover art by Mina Carter

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

Look for us online at:

www.decadentpublishing.com/

The Calendar Men Stories

Outback Dirty

February Lover

Seducing Helena

Frontier Inferno

Shockwave

The Other Brother

The Letter

Burning Love

A Model Hero

Falling for Her Navy Seal

Thankful for You

Snow Angels

Also by Kate Richards

One Night on the Beach

Avalon for Christmas

A 1Night Stand Series

The Virgin and the Playboy

The Virgin and the Best Man

Two Men and a Virgin

Gale Force Passion

Trail of Hearts

Madame Eve’s Gift

Two Men

Virgin Underground

Two Dads for Christmas

The Edge

The Milkman Cometh

Frontier Inferno

The Calendar Men Series

By

Kate Richards

~Dedication~

To all the fabulous authors who wrote for this series and especially JoAnne Kenrick who came up with the idea. It’s an honor to share the Calendar Men with you.

Chapter One

Heather swung down from the train and cast a glance around the small—no, tiny—station. A building no bigger than a large outhouse held a sign marked Stationmaster, but another hung in the window indicating he—or she—was away until further notice. A loud rumble of thunder shook the ground, rattling the platform under her feet. A good omen or bad?

We don’t have a stationmaster right now.

Heather spun to find a little boy of six or seven clutching a paper bag brimming with groceries and staring up at her with a serious expression. I beg your pardon?

I said, nobody works here. Not in April, anyway. His blond hair stuck up at odd angles and he wore a denim jacket that hung to his knees and brushed the tops of dusty boots. Nobody gets off the train, usually, except people who live here. His wide blue eyes never blinked. You don’t live here.

No, no I don’t. At least, not yet. When she’d seen the article in a travel magazine about towns along the new leg of the railroad in the Alaskan wilderness, she’d never considered she’d arrive in spring. Or that it would be a problem if she did. Biting her lip, she thought about hopping back into the car and traveling on, but would farther north be an improvement? Each stop presented a smaller town, fewer buildings—fewer enticements.

For all she knew, the next stop might be an actual outhouse with no town whatsoever. She shrugged her pack higher on her back and looked around again, but the single street held not one person. Does anyone live here?

He rolled his eyes. Lots of people. I do. And Mrs. Magee. She’s my teacher. And Mr. Harvey in the hardware store. And my dad, of course.

The row of wooden storefronts lining the street loomed dull and depressing under the leaden sky, unlike the brightly painted station with its deep blue walls and red roof. The train line was supposed to be bringing lots of new people to this distant part of the forty-ninth state. Would there be any employment here? Heather couldn’t live for long on the money she’d brought.

She zipped her hoodie and shivered. And your mother, she murmured. Don’t forget her.

No.

What? She snapped her attention back to the boy.

No, my mother doesn’t live here. She’s gone. His matter-of-fact tone belied the seriousness of his pronouncement.

Panicked, Heather searched for a way to undo the damage. I’m sorry. An only child, she’d never spent much time with kids younger than herself and this conversation was already the longest she’d had with a young person in years. And she’d probably reminded him of a great tragedy.

Billy! A deep voice preceded the appearance of a tall figure at the end of the street. Billy, we need to get on the road soon.

Oops, that’s my dad. I have to go. Her new friend flashed a gap-toothed smile. Nice to meet you. He ran toward the man, who tousled his hair, and together they disappeared into one of the shops.

Heather shook her head and, with no better plan, followed her new friend. Behind her, the train let out a wail and chugged away from the station. She had to stay now…at least until another train came through, whenever that might be. As she moved past a gift shop, fishing gear store, and an art gallery featuring Work by Local Artists—most of the windows dim, few of the businesses open—the likelihood of finding a job began to fade. Perhaps, in summer, when people came to fish and hike…or even in winter when, according to the article, tourists flew in to take advantage of the snow sports, the miles of snow machine trails and cross-country skiing, the spectacular holiday celebrations at the Lodge….

The clouds deepened and fear of being caught in a downpour sped her